Major carriers say no plans to hedge fuel despite rising prices

Four of the world’s largest airlines - Delta, American, United and Emirates - said Monday they had no plans to start hedging their fuel bills despite recent rises in oil prices. Speaking on the same panel at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin, executives from the four carriers said in response to a query that they had no plans to alter their separate strategies of not hedging their fuel exposure. The global Brent benchmark briefly climbed above $70 per barrel earlier this month for the first time in three years. “We have not hedged since the merger and our philosophy has not changed. We are the largest purchaser of jet fuel and we think we would be bidding against ourselves. The market is quite thin beyond 12 months,” Amelia Anderson, managing director and assistant treasurer at American Airlines, said. “I don’t envision our fuel hedging practice to change in the short term,” she added. <br/>